The semiconductor industry has long been interested in vertical device structures. Vertical device structures can greatly reduce the surface area requirement for a semiconductor device. Deep trench capacitors are one type of vertical device that has received attention. Deep trench capacitors can be used in various capacities, most notably in forming dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
Semiconductor devices fabrication requires a very large number of process operations and process controls. The number of steps and their complexity contributes significantly to manufacturing cost. Accordingly, there has been a long felt need for new semiconductor device manufacturing processes that require fewer steps and less queue time, that are easier to control and are more reliable, or both.